Puffy by Gillian Fox
Manager of Heavenly Spa, St Stephen’s Green
Women as they get older start to discover some of the joys of being a woman that men cannot appreciate, I am being very sarcastic because one of these so called joys is a body that is on a rollercoaster of hormones.
Body Changes as One Gets Older
From day to day micro changes in hormone production can cause mood swings and body change as a women goes through her monthly cycle, it becomes natural for women to understand these changes in herself but her body is slower to respond.
One of the main things a woman finds is that if she is not active enough she will tend to bloat in hot weather or when travelling.
Hormones cause women to have a slower metabolism as they age or after pregnancy, puffiness around the ankles tends to worsen to puffy legs and puffiness around the face.
Different ways to prevent change
To keep water retention to a minimum it is important to avoid salt and sugar (these are found in ready made foods), drinking plenty of clear water flushes out the system and keeps kidneys healthy.
It might sound funny but the more water you drink the less bloated you look and feel. Avoid tea and coffee as they are very harsh on your body and cause your skin to dry out the guide is for every cup of tea or coffee drink an extra glass of water.
Fruit should be eaten twenty minutes before a meal as fruit is a natural diuretic and cleanses the intestines and fresh fruit is easily digested within twenty minutes of being eaten on an empty stomach. Eating fresh fruit with other food as part of a meal will casueit to ferment and as a result it will not be as well digested.
If you find your feet and legs swell during the day then buy some support tights (they look like normal tights but are much stronger). If you put on your support tights in the morning, you will notice how your legs do not swell. Another idea is to lie down on your back and place your feet up against a wall at a ninety degree angle. After five or ten minutes the puffiness will have dispersed.
Exercise speeds up lymphatic drainage and helps keep water retention to a minimum, so get back to the gym or offer to take your neighbours dog for a walk on a daily basis. The overall effect of trying all these ideas is that your health will improve as will your digestion and complexion.
As an alternative, try manual lymphatic drainage to gently disperse water through your system and thereby into your kidneys for drainage, Manual lymphatic Drainage is an extremely gentle massage which follows the natural flow of the lymph glands and has an immediate and wonderful effect.
